Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables! Presenter name and affiliation

What Does It Mean? a.Eat any fruit or vegetable as long as it fits on half your plate. b.Choose nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables to fill up about half your plate. c.Both a and b 2 Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables!

What Does It Mean? a.Eat any fruit or vegetable as long as it fits on half your plate. b.Choose nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables to fill up about half your plate. c.Both a and b 3 Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables!

Health Benefits Reduced risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease Protection against some cancers Lower blood pressure Reduced risk of kidney stones Decrease in bone loss 4

Match Nutrients - Food Sources! Fiber Folate Potassium Beta-carotene Vitamin C Oranges Leafy greens Legumes Papayas Tomatoes White potatoes 5

Match Nutrients - Food Sources! Fiber Folate Potassium Beta-carotene Vitamin C Oranges Leafy greens Legumes Papayas Tomatoes White potatoes 6 These are excellent food sources of these nutrients. You can get these nutrients from MANY fruits and vegetables!

Selecting Nutrient-Rich F/V Think COLORS!! 7 RED ORANGE GREEN PURPLE

Selecting Nutrient-Rich F/V Think VARIETY!! 8 CRUNCHY CANNED SOFT FROZEN FRESH For illustrative purposes only; Extension does not endorse specific brands.

Maximize Nutrients: Buying Buy fruits and vegetables fresh and in season when possible. Choose fresh fruits or canned fruits with little or no added sugar. When buying frozen vegetables, select those with no added sauces. Look for low sodium or sodium-free when buying canned vegetables. Use food labels to compare nutrient values. 9

Maximize Nutrients: Preparing Use fresh fruits and vegetables as soon as possible. Cook veggies in small amount of liquid until just tender. Microwave, steam, stir-fry, or lightly grill veggies to retain nutrients. Use herbs, spices, lemon or lime juice for flavor. Minimize sauces and added salt. 10

Increase the Appeal Serve fresh cut veggies with a light dip or dressing. Cut veggies in various shapes for added interest. Keep a bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen counter. In salads use many colors and textures of fruits and vegetables for variety. Keep prepared cut-up vegetables in a see-through container in the refrigerator. 11

Get Children Involved Let them decide which vegetable to have for dinner. In the store, ask them to choose a new vegetable or fruit to try at home. Allow them to help with food preparation. Examples: – Prepare fruit kabobs for a snack. – Help with salad preparation. – Cut-up vegetables for a recipe. – Make a fruit salad for dessert. 12

What’s for Dinner? Find your estimated daily calorie needs. Look up the amounts to eat from the Fruits and Vegetables food groups. Divide these amounts by three. Pick fruit and vegetable portions that meet these dinner goals. Decide on food preparation techniques to keep foods as healthful as possible. 13 Using MyPlate in Your Life - Adults

What about Mixed Foods? We often include foods from more than one food group in our recipes. Recommended amounts from four of the food groups for a 2,000 calorie diet divided by 3: – Vegetables: 1 cup (rounded up) – Fruits: 2/3 cup – Grains: 2 ounce equivalents – Protein Foods: 2 ounce equivalents (rounded up) We may make adjustments in these amounts for the dinner meal based on our usual eating patterns. 14

MyPlate – Dinner cup salad 3 ounces broiled salmon (added 1 oz) 1 cup rice pilaf with ½ cup vegetables 1 peach

Dinner 1 - Nutrients 580 calories 30 grams protein 69 grams carbohydrate 6 grams dietary fiber 20 grams fat 2750 IU vitamin A 8 mg vitamin C 260 mg sodium NOTE: Dairy is not included in this analysis. 16

MyPlate – Dinner 2 17 Spaghetti and meat balls: 1 cup spaghetti 3 ounces meatballs (added 1 oz) ⅔ cup fruit salad 1½ cup salad (added ½ cup)

Dinner 2 - Nutrients 500 calories 23 grams protein 66 grams carbohydrate 10 grams dietary fiber 19 grams fat 1670 IU vitamin A 22 mg vitamin C 350 mg sodium 18 NOTE: Dairy is not included in this analysis.

Setting Goals Write down at least two things that you will do differently this week to make half your plate fruits and vegetables. 19

Questions? Are there any questions? 20

Slide set developed by: Linda B. Bobroff, Ph.D., RD Professor and Extension Nutrition Specialist Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences University of Florida September